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  2. Plot device - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plot_device

    A plot device or plot mechanism [1] is any technique in a narrative used to move the plot forward. [2] A clichéd plot device may annoy the reader and a contrived or arbitrary device may confuse the reader, causing a loss of the suspension of disbelief. However, a well-crafted plot device, or one that emerges naturally from the setting or ...

  3. MacGuffin - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin

    The use of a MacGuffin as a plot device predates the name MacGuffin. The Holy Grail of Arthurian legend has been cited as an early example of a MacGuffin. The Holy Grail is the desired object that is essential to initiate and advance the plot, but the final disposition of the Grail is never revealed, suggesting that the object is not of significance in itself. [8]

  4. Deus ex machina - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_ex_machina

    Deus ex machina in Euripides' Medea, performed in 2009 in Syracuse, Italy; the sun god sends a golden chariot to rescue Medea.. Deus ex machina (/ ˌ d eɪ ə s ɛ k s ˈ m æ k ɪ n ə, ˈ m ɑː k-/ DAY-əs ex-MA(H)K-in-ə, [1] Latin: [ˈdɛ.ʊs ɛks ˈmaːkʰɪnaː]; plural: dei ex machina; English "god from the machine") [2] [3] is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a ...

  5. List of narrative techniques - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_narrative_techniques

    The author uses narrative and stylistic devices to create the sense of an unedited interior monologue, characterized by leaps in syntax and punctuation that trace a character's fragmentary thoughts and sensory feelings. The outcome is a highly lucid perspective with a plot. Not to be confused with free writing. An example is Ulysses. At one ...

  6. Plot (narrative) - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plot_(narrative)

    A plot device is a means of advancing the plot in a story. It is often used to motivate characters, create urgency, or resolve a difficulty. This can be contrasted with moving a story forward with dramatic technique; that is, by making things happen because characters take action for well-developed reasons.

  7. Glossary of literary terms - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_literary_terms

    Also apophthegm. A terse, pithy saying, akin to a proverb, maxim, or aphorism. aposiopesis A rhetorical device in which speech is broken off abruptly and the sentence is left unfinished. apostrophe A figure of speech in which a speaker breaks off from addressing the audience (e.g., in a play) and directs speech to a third party such as an opposing litigant or some other individual, sometimes ...

  8. Deathtrap (plot device) - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathtrap_(plot_device)

    This plot device is generally believed to have been popularized by movie serials and 19th-century theatrical melodramas. A well-known example is the cliché of the moustache-twirling villain leaving the heroine tied to railroad tracks. Its use in the James Bond film series and superhero stories is well known.

  9. Plot armor - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plot_armor

    Plot armor is a plot device wherein a fictional character is preserved from harm due to their necessity for the plot to proceed. [1] The Oxford English Dictionary identified the term as originating in the 2000s, with its first reported use on the Usenet forum alt.games.dur-trs-trap. [2]